1. In the space below, describe the stasis at the beginning of BFE. In other words, “Where are we?” “When is it (time, day, and year)?” “Who are the people involved?” “What is the dramatic situation in which the characters find themselves as the play unfolds?” BFE takes place in “BFE” (somewhere in Arizona potentially) during the late 90’s. The play begins on Panny’s birthday as she comes home to her mother, Isabel, and her uncle, Lefty. The play depicts the experiences of the three central characters, Panny, Isabel (Panny’s mother), and Lefty (Panny’s uncle), as they develop relationships with other supporting characters.
2. What is the intrusion that causes the stasis to be broken and the dramatic action to develop, often at an increasingly rapid pace, to the end of the play? The intrusion occurs during scene 8 when Panny accidentally calls Hugo instead of Nancy. This phone call leads to the development of Hugo and Panny’s friendship and, eventually, their attempt to meet up. Their first face-to-face introduction reveals Panny’s lie about her age and the dissolution of their friendship. Hugo (who knows Nancy through a mutual friend) takes Nancy home and Panny is left behind. As a result, Nancy is saved from ‘the man’ and Panny is taken in her place, resulting in her abduction and leading to conclusion of the play.
3. Why do the events of the play take place at this particular time and place? In other words, what is the unique factor that is out of the ordinary that causes a turn of events to take place? This is the period during which Panny gets abducted by the man.
4. State the dramatic question or questions that must be answered by the end of the play? (Ordinarily, the dramatic question shares a close connection with the intrusion.) Some of the questions that arise throughout the play are 1) ‘Does Panny end up meeting Hugo in person?’ and 2) ‘Does Panny end up getting plastic surgery?’. By the end of the play, Panny does end up going to meet Hugo. Their face-to-face introduction leads to the dissolution of their friendship and results in Panny’s abduction. Furthermore, it is her abduction experience that ultimately leads to her going through with plastic surgery.
5. Use Panny, Isabelle, or Lefty to answer the questions concerning character. Ball says, a character is revealed by what he/she does, that is the dramatic actions that are taken. Examine what the character wants (NOTE: In Trifles the wants of Ms. Hale change as the play progresses). The wants of a character often encounter obstacles that get in the way of achieving those wants. Ball says there are 4 kinds of obstacles that frustrate the wants of a character. They are: a. Me against myself, b. Me against another individual, c. Me against society (that is law, social norms, etc.) and, d. Me against fate, the universe, natural forces, God or the gods. In answering these questions be sure to point to the particular obstacles that demonstrate these obstacles for one of the three designated characters..
Throughout BFE, Panny struggles with her race and society’s conventional beauty standards. We see that Panny’s desire to be beautiful is faced with the obstacle of societal conventions regarding beauty standards (Panny against society. This conflict is reinforced by several scenes: Isabel’s talk of plastic surgery, Panny’s dialogue with Hae-yoon, the discussion of the conventionally ‘beautiful’ missing girls, and Panny’s abduction. At the beginning of the play, Isabel offers Panny plastic surgery as a birthday gift. Upon Panny’s declining of the offer, Isabel asks her about her nose saying that there is no bridge and about ‘fixing’ her eyes, which are monolid. It is at this point that it becomes painfully clear to the audience that typical Asian features are not considered ‘beautiful’ in the play. The definition of conventional beauty is reinforced in the discussion of the missing girls, who are all blonde and, presumably Caucasian. Later on in the play, Panny confides in Hae-yoon, asking about plastic surgery. In her response, Hae-yoon proclaims that she and her friends have all had surgery done to get double lids so that they can be beautiful. Finally, her abductor makes it grotesquely clear that Panny is not beautiful because she does not fall within the narrow beauty spectrum and therefore, is not his type. Essentially, all of these experiences build up and weigh down on Panny, making it impossible for her to feel beautiful while being an Asian-American woman. In order to overcome this obstacle, Panny submits to the pressure of conventional beauty standards and gets plastic surgery on her eyes. Another obstacle that Panny struggles with is the disparity between who she is and who she wants to be (Panny against herself). This internal conflict/ this gap between her real and ideal selves is highlighted by her contrasting relationships with Hae-yoon and Hugo. With Hae-yoon, Panny is painfully honest and authentically herself. Whereas her relationship with Hugo is based on several lies regarding her identity (her age, her race, etc.). Eventually, she is forced to face Hugo and reveal the truth, making the illusion of her ideal-self impossible to maintain. Additionally, Hae-yoon keeps her grounded to the truth as she relays her abduction story to the audience. Ultimately, she is forced to be her real-self and, realizing that she cannot overcome her own identity with words, does it with action (alters her real-self with plastic surgery).
6. The most important information in most plays takes place during theatrical moments. In your estimation what is the most theatrical moment in BFE and what happens during that moment which is so important to the outcome of the play? In my opinion, the most theatrical part of the play is when Hae-yoon interrupts Panny’s false, happily-ever-after version narrative of her abduction, coaxing her to tell the truth. This scene is very unique in that there is a shift in narrator and Hae-yoon and Panny have direct dialogue with one another. In this scene, Hae-yoon holds Panny accountable to the truth of herself and her story, like she has been doing throughout the majority of the play. This interaction between Hae-yoon and Panny not only breaks the confines of the script (by speaking directly to one another even though that isn’t possible in reality), but it also highlights the nature of their relationship (Hae-yoon keeps Panny grounded to the truth, something Panny tries very hard to avoid (i.e. her lie-based relationship with Hugo) haunting her with it like a doppelganger as Panny calls her earlier in the play).
7. Provide at least three examples of images in BFE. How does the title of the play help us understand the images in the play? (Remember Ball says that, “An image is the use of something we know that tells us something we don’t know.” He goes on to say that images invoke and expand, rather than define and limit.”) Some of the images in the play would be the makeup she wears to go meet Hugo, the word ‘UGLY’ that the man carved into her stomach, and Panny after plastic surgery (with her eyes covered in gauze). The act of putting on makeup to go meet Hugo not only shows Panny’s insecurity in her appearance, but her desire to be beautiful and accepted. We see this insecurity cruelly reinforced when ‘the man’ carves the word ‘UGLY’ onto Panny, so reinforced, in fact, that Panny decides to get surgery done in order to escape this grotesque label. Leaving us with the last image: Panny post-op with her eyes covered in gauze. Ultimately, these images show us the manifestation Panny’s insecurity and it’s evolution into a physical action: getting plastic surgery.
8. Ordinarily, there are many themes in most plays. List the themes in BFE. Some themes of BFE are adherence to a narrow beauty standard, the concept of beauty (self-found/ internal vs. society defined/ external) and racial identity and physical appearance.
9. Most American plays have something to do with family and/or family relationships. What does family have to do with BFE? Is family redefined in BFE and if so, in what ways? In BFE, family is almost a touchstone. The final scene of the play depicts Isabel, Lefty, and Panny all sitting together in the living room. As the play develops and the dramatic action unfolds, each of them undergo some sort of dis-enchantment or disillusionment with the world around them: Panny is abducted, Isabel realizes her own disabilities, and Lefty finds love only to be let down. Their togetherness in the living room gives off a sense of mutual reclusion from the world that bit their hopeful, outreached hands.
BFE takes place in “BFE” (somewhere in Arizona potentially) during the late 90’s. The play begins on Panny’s birthday as she comes home to her mother, Isabel, and her uncle, Lefty. The play depicts the experiences of the three central characters, Panny, Isabel (Panny’s mother), and Lefty (Panny’s uncle), as they develop relationships with other supporting characters.
2. What is the intrusion that causes the stasis to be broken and the dramatic action to develop, often at an increasingly rapid pace, to the end of the play?
The intrusion occurs during scene 8 when Panny accidentally calls Hugo instead of Nancy. This phone call leads to the development of Hugo and Panny’s friendship and, eventually, their attempt to meet up. Their first face-to-face introduction reveals Panny’s lie about her age and the dissolution of their friendship. Hugo (who knows Nancy through a mutual friend) takes Nancy home and Panny is left behind. As a result, Nancy is saved from ‘the man’ and Panny is taken in her place, resulting in her abduction and leading to conclusion of the play.
3. Why do the events of the play take place at this particular time and place? In other words, what is the unique factor that is out of the ordinary that causes a turn of events to take place?
This is the period during which Panny gets abducted by the man.
4. State the dramatic question or questions that must be answered by the end of the play? (Ordinarily, the dramatic question shares a close connection with the intrusion.)
Some of the questions that arise throughout the play are 1) ‘Does Panny end up meeting Hugo in person?’ and 2) ‘Does Panny end up getting plastic surgery?’. By the end of the play, Panny does end up going to meet Hugo. Their face-to-face introduction leads to the dissolution of their friendship and results in Panny’s abduction. Furthermore, it is her abduction experience that ultimately leads to her going through with plastic surgery.
5. Use Panny, Isabelle, or Lefty to answer the questions concerning character. Ball says, a character is revealed by what he/she does, that is the dramatic actions that are taken. Examine what the character wants (NOTE: In Trifles the wants of Ms. Hale change as the play progresses). The wants of a character often encounter obstacles that get in the way of achieving those wants. Ball says there are 4 kinds of obstacles that frustrate the wants of a character. They are: a. Me against myself, b. Me against another individual, c. Me against society (that is law, social norms, etc.) and, d. Me against fate, the universe, natural forces, God or the gods. In answering these questions be sure to point to the particular obstacles that demonstrate these obstacles for one of the three designated characters..
Throughout BFE, Panny struggles with her race and society’s conventional beauty standards. We see that Panny’s desire to be beautiful is faced with the obstacle of societal conventions regarding beauty standards (Panny against society. This conflict is reinforced by several scenes: Isabel’s talk of plastic surgery, Panny’s dialogue with Hae-yoon, the discussion of the conventionally ‘beautiful’ missing girls, and Panny’s abduction. At the beginning of the play, Isabel offers Panny plastic surgery as a birthday gift. Upon Panny’s declining of the offer, Isabel asks her about her nose saying that there is no bridge and about ‘fixing’ her eyes, which are monolid. It is at this point that it becomes painfully clear to the audience that typical Asian features are not considered ‘beautiful’ in the play. The definition of conventional beauty is reinforced in the discussion of the missing girls, who are all blonde and, presumably Caucasian. Later on in the play, Panny confides in Hae-yoon, asking about plastic surgery. In her response, Hae-yoon proclaims that she and her friends have all had surgery done to get double lids so that they can be beautiful. Finally, her abductor makes it grotesquely clear that Panny is not beautiful because she does not fall within the narrow beauty spectrum and therefore, is not his type. Essentially, all of these experiences build up and weigh down on Panny, making it impossible for her to feel beautiful while being an Asian-American woman. In order to overcome this obstacle, Panny submits to the pressure of conventional beauty standards and gets plastic surgery on her eyes.
Another obstacle that Panny struggles with is the disparity between who she is and who she wants to be (Panny against herself). This internal conflict/ this gap between her real and ideal selves is highlighted by her contrasting relationships with Hae-yoon and Hugo. With Hae-yoon, Panny is painfully honest and authentically herself. Whereas her relationship with Hugo is based on several lies regarding her identity (her age, her race, etc.). Eventually, she is forced to face Hugo and reveal the truth, making the illusion of her ideal-self impossible to maintain. Additionally, Hae-yoon keeps her grounded to the truth as she relays her abduction story to the audience. Ultimately, she is forced to be her real-self and, realizing that she cannot overcome her own identity with words, does it with action (alters her real-self with plastic surgery).
6. The most important information in most plays takes place during theatrical moments. In your estimation what is the most theatrical moment in BFE and what happens during that moment which is so important to the outcome of the play?
In my opinion, the most theatrical part of the play is when Hae-yoon interrupts Panny’s false, happily-ever-after version narrative of her abduction, coaxing her to tell the truth. This scene is very unique in that there is a shift in narrator and Hae-yoon and Panny have direct dialogue with one another. In this scene, Hae-yoon holds Panny accountable to the truth of herself and her story, like she has been doing throughout the majority of the play. This interaction between Hae-yoon and Panny not only breaks the confines of the script (by speaking directly to one another even though that isn’t possible in reality), but it also highlights the nature of their relationship (Hae-yoon keeps Panny grounded to the truth, something Panny tries very hard to avoid (i.e. her lie-based relationship with Hugo) haunting her with it like a doppelganger as Panny calls her earlier in the play).
7. Provide at least three examples of images in BFE. How does the title of the play help us understand the images in the play? (Remember Ball says that, “An image is the use of something we know that tells us something we don’t know.”
He goes on to say that images invoke and expand, rather than define and limit.”)
Some of the images in the play would be the makeup she wears to go meet Hugo, the word ‘UGLY’ that the man carved into her stomach, and Panny after plastic surgery (with her eyes covered in gauze). The act of putting on makeup to go meet Hugo not only shows Panny’s insecurity in her appearance, but her desire to be beautiful and accepted. We see this insecurity cruelly reinforced when ‘the man’ carves the word ‘UGLY’ onto Panny, so reinforced, in fact, that Panny decides to get surgery done in order to escape this grotesque label. Leaving us with the last image: Panny post-op with her eyes covered in gauze. Ultimately, these images show us the manifestation Panny’s insecurity and it’s evolution into a physical action: getting plastic surgery.
8. Ordinarily, there are many themes in most plays. List the themes in BFE.
Some themes of BFE are adherence to a narrow beauty standard, the concept of beauty (self-found/ internal vs. society defined/ external) and racial identity and physical appearance.
9. Most American plays have something to do with family and/or family relationships. What does family have to do with BFE? Is family redefined in BFE and if so, in what ways?
In BFE, family is almost a touchstone. The final scene of the play depicts Isabel, Lefty, and Panny all sitting together in the living room. As the play develops and the dramatic action unfolds, each of them undergo some sort of dis-enchantment or disillusionment with the world around them: Panny is abducted, Isabel realizes her own disabilities, and Lefty finds love only to be let down. Their togetherness in the living room gives off a sense of mutual reclusion from the world that bit their hopeful, outreached hands.